Cloud computing has provided a new avenue for SMBs to take their business operations to the next level. There are numerous reasons why SMBs should take advantage of the IT services that cloud computing can offer. If you're thinking about moving some of your network to the cloud, the following are the top 6 reasons why you should take that next step, today.

VMware's vCenter Server 5 Essentials Pack, a commonly used virtualization platform, has an optional software plug-in or add-on known as VSA (vSphere Storage Appliance).  The main function performed by the VSA add-on is to create a shared storage pool and replicate data between internal components of the pool as needed to create high data availability.  The concept used by the VSA system is well understood in the industry, and has been embodied in non-VMware products such as LeftHand (produced by HP). 

Businesses and organizations are switching to outsourced IT for a number of different reasons.  One of the most significant is that it allows small and medium-sized businesses to greatly reduce the size of their IT departments, if not eliminate them, resulting in greater efficiency and productivity. 

Data centers have a key role in most business organizations today, with their use growing each year among small and medium-sized businesses.  IT services in the 21^st century can help organizations take the next step in data center functionality, turning them into highly efficient dynamic data centers that optimize all aspects of their operations from the use of applications to network storage capacity.  What makes these data centers dynamic as opposed to the previous generation of data centers is their ability to consume as-needed rather than having large amounts of dedicated resources to run them.

In addition, systems using the IHC platform (Intel Hybrid Cloud) for virtualization are vulnerable to the security flaw. An elevation of privilege vulnerability is caused by a method the Windows User Mode Scheduler uses to handle system requests.  With the existence of this weakness comes a higher probability of hackers exploiting it to gain kernel privileges and take control of Windows and other operating systems. If you’re using Intel CPU hardware, here are the top 3 reasons to contact your IT security support team immediately.

As more and more SMBs discover the benefits of the cloud, it is becoming increasingly clear that sometimes, third-party applications offer the best types of tools for interfacing with a cloud environment. Companies looking to make the most of their new cloud environment will need to migrate their mission-critical applications onto it. Other useful functions provided by third-party tools include monitoring the cloud environment and allowing for automated provisioning of virtual machines.

You’ve implemented the firewalls and other security mechanisms, documented the policies and procedures, sent out the periodic reminders, and instituted the password policies, but it can still happen – your network could be hacked or hijacked. It can be hard to tell though - network connection can slow due to testing procedures, installing updates, or other functions. Still, it is beneficial for every organization to recognize when that an area of your network has been hacked.

From the "brain" of Jeff Lauria, Dir. of Technology

Some businesses and organizations that have already implemented a managed services approach as part of their IT solutions suite may already have heard of "block level storage virtualization," but for others, the term will be a new one.

By Chris Stephenson, Co-Founder